Chapter 1539 - Story

“Pray tell.” Lin Yun said. He was curious and baffled why Jian Jingtian was restricted to the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect. After all, Jian Jingtian’s talent and comprehension weren’t any weaker than Lin Yun’s. Jian Jingtian was even stronger than him in some aspects. He would've become a saint if such a genius was still in the Sword Sect!

“This is a long story. So let us go through it little by little.” Mu Chuan looked at Lin Yun and sorted his thoughts before he sighed, “Let’s start with the nine ancient domains. The Kunlun Realm is known for having myriad cities, but there are only nine ancient domains. They’re the Ancient Heaven Domain, Ancient Earth Domain, Ancient Profound Domain, Ancient Barren Domain, Ancient Lightning Domain, Ancient Fire Domain, Ancient Ice Domain, Ancient Wind Domain, and the Ancient Saint Domain. Do you know why?”

“I don’t.” Lin Yun replied honestly.

“Then we have to start from the Dragon Gate. The Dragon Gate has existed since ancient times, a sovereign holy land of the Divine Dragon Era. The Dragon Gate has nine sacred palaces within the nine ancient domains. The sacred palaces have existed since before the ancient domains.”

“Just what kind of existence is the Dragon Gate?” Lin Yun asked.

Shaking his head, Mu Chuan replied, “I don’t know. I’ve heard bits and pieces from our master that the Dragon Gate might be a sovereign holy land, but they’re not domineering. Back in the Ancient Era or Golden Era, there were sects and clans comparable to the Dragon Gate, and the Kunlun Realm had flourished. The Dragon Gate had no intentions of dominating the Kunlun Realm, but they’re the undisputed king of the Kunlun Realm. That was a great era.”

Lin Yun couldn’t imagine what sort of era that was. He had heard much about the Dragon Gate, even when he was in the Profound Amber Realm. After coming to the Kunlun Realm, he found many clues about the Dragon Gate. Even the Nine Emperors were related to the Dragon Gate. It was so much so that even the Iris Sword Saint was associated with the Dragon Gate, and he was filled with curiosity for this gate.

“The Dragon Gate was on the frontline in the Golden Era. The nine sacred palaces became a battlefield for deities and were smashed. The Dragon Gate was destroyed along with the Golden Era in that battle, and the Kunlun Realm fell into a hundred years of chaos, known as the Darkest Era. Only the rise of the Nine Emperors suppressed the Darkest Era.” Mu Chuan said.

“Senior Brother’s affair is related to the sacred palaces?” Lin Yun asked after a brief pondering.

“That’s right.” Mu Chuan nodded. “The nine ancient domains each have a sacred palace. The one in the Ancient Barren Domain is called the Ancient Barren Sacred Palace. It might be called a sacred palace, but it’s a huge patch of palaces. In that battle, countless palaces fell like stars, piling up on that ancient battlefield. That’s a battlefield for deities; not even saints dared to get close. So that place was sealed off afterward. But over the past hundred thousand years, the seal has greatly weakened. The seal will be weakened once every two decades, and cultivators under the Samsara Edict Realm can enter.

“During every opening, the eight powerful sects of the Ancient Barren Domain will send our disciples in to search the ruins. Before the Profound Sky Sect rose, the Sword Sect managed it, and the sects are still amicable with each other. The competition might be cruel, but it hasn’t reached a bloody stage.” Mu Chuan sighed as he spoke about it.

But everything changed when the Profound Sky Sect rose to power. Everyone within the Ancient Barren Domain knew about Tian Xuanzi’s ambitions and intentions to rule the entire Ancient Barren Domain. He didn’t bother hiding his motives at all.

Since he wanted to rule the entire Ancient Barren Domain, he naturally had to defeat the Sword Sect. But even if the Sword Sect had declined, it was still once a holy land, not to mention that the Radiant Sword Saint was around. The Sword Sect’s prestige within the Ancient Barren Domain wasn’t something that the Profound Sky Sect could be compared to.

When Tian Xuanzi became a saint five hundred years ago, his ambitions reached a new height. That was when the chant ‘Profound Sky Saint Sovereign, invincible in the Ancient Barren Domain’ started to appear. Every time the Ancient Barren Battlefield opened, the Profound Sky Sect would target the Sword Sect.

The Sword Sect’s disciples would suffer provocation from the Profound Sky Sect each time. Although the two sects didn’t go to war, their relationship was already like fire and water. The Profound Sky Sect wanted to suppress the Sword Sect within the Ancient Barren Domain.

Since Tian Xuanzi’s rise, the Profound Sky Sect became prosperous, far exceeding the Sword Sect, aside from their foundation. If it weren’t for the Radiant Sword Saint’s presence, they would’ve long dominated the entire Ancient Barren Domain.

Nineteen years ago, when the Ancient Barren Battlefield was opened, Jian Jingtian was the one who led the party. Every disciple within the Sword Sect wanted to suppress the Profound Sky Sect, since the latter had previously suppressed them. The Sword Sect would suffer heavy casualties, and it was no secret that the Profound Sky Sect was using the Ancient Barren Battlefield to weaken the Sword Sect.

“But no one thought that the Sword Sect’s disciples would die a terrible death this time, suffering close to two-thirds of disiciple casualties…”

“That’s impossible!” Lin Yun replied. Jian Jingtian was ranked first on the Dragon Pulse Ranking. So it made no sense for the Sword Sect to suffer such a horrible loss.

“No one knew what happened at that time. After that, we learned that not too long after they entered the Ancient Barren Battlefield, a junior sister that Jian Jingtian was close to was captured by the Profound Sky Sect. Thus, causing Junior Brother to be trapped in a region. When the battlefield ended, that junior sister was killed by the Profound Sky Sect’s disciple.”

“That’s…” Lin Yun was utterly dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe that the Profound Sky Sect would be so shameless as to threaten Jian Jingtian, thus allowing them to suppress the Sword Sect’s disciples. Not to mention that they killed her when the battlefield was closing.

“Junior Brother couldn’t take that lying down, and he began slaughtering the Profound Sky Sect alone. He had a treasure that could block the attacks from Samsara Edict Realm experts. When the Profound Sky Sect responded, Junior Brother had already slaughtered nearly a thousand people.” Mu Chuan wore a complicated expression when mentioning that. He naturally supported Jian Jingtian from the bottom of his heart, but Jian Jingtian was too impulsive, once you calm down and think about it.

“In the end, our master appeared and exchanged three moves with Tian Xuanzi. That battle also allowed everyone to witness Tian Xuanzi’s strength. He and our master were evenly matched, shocking the entire Ancient Barren Domain. Tian Xuanzi’s fame rose from then on, and he became the strongest saint under our master. When our master saw that Junior Brother fell into Tian Xuanzi’s hands, both sides could only take one step back. Master expelled Junior Brother from the Sword Sect, and Jian Jingtian swore that he would never take a step out from the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect for his entire life…”

Lin Yun’s emotions were down when he heard that. He never thought that his senior brother was toyed with right from the beginning. Even if he killed a thousand disciples of the Profound Sky Sect, it was nothing compared to being expelled from the Sword Sect.

“Furious? There’s something more…” Mu Chuan gulped down another mouthful of blood and wore a bitter expression.

“What’s the matter?”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Remember when I told you that Junior Brother didn’t cultivate the Divine Firmament Sword Sutra? He cultivated the Grand Firmament Sword Sutra!”

“But, how is that possible? Wasn’t it long lost?” Lin Yun was stumped upon hearing that.

“That’s right. The Grand Firmament Peak’s inheritance is long lost, and not even our master can do anything about it. My junior brother relied on his talent to comprehend the Grand Firmament Sword Sutra. If he became a saint, there’s a high possibility that he can complete the Great Profound Sword Canon.” Mu Chuan’s emotions became unstable, and he roared, “Damn it! I’ve been guessing that it was all planned by that bastard, Tian Xuanzi. It was so much so that he already knew Junior Brother’s actions right from the beginning and allowed him to slaughter the Profound Sky Sect’s disciples so that not even our master could do anything about it!”

Lin Yun’s gaze became cold when he heard that. Tian Xuanzi was too vicious. Now that he thought about it, Tian Xuanzi was a disgusting individual when he descended at the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect back then. If his master didn’t come, he would have probably been killed by Tian Xuanzi.

Lin Yun could feel a chill run down his spine because Tian Xuanzi was too terrifying. As long as Tian Xuanzi existed, the Sword Sect would never have peace.

“I initially planned to tell you after some time, but I told you beforehand since you ran into Jin Jue. You have to be careful. You might fall if you’re not cautious, no matter how talented you are.” Mu Chuan said with a grave expression as he looked at Lin Yun. “Twenty years have almost passed, so you can learn from Junior bBrother’s experience.”

“I must go to the Ancient Barren Battlefield no matter what?”

“Yes. Even if the Dragon Gate’s sacred palaces aren’t there, there are all sorts of secrets. Many peerless experts have lost their lives there, and the ghost spirit martial techniques inside can greatly boost the foundation of a sect.” Mu Chuan looked at Lin Yun with a grave expression. “This is also why the Profound Sky Sect can rise so quickly.”

Lin Yun fell into silence for a long time after hearing that. He never expected that Jian Jingtian would have such a tragic story. Despite his peerless talent, he was toyed with in the hands of Tian Xuanzi and wasted eighteen years. If he didn’t undo the knot in Jian Jingtian’s heart, the latter would probably still be trapped in the Dragon Pulse Realm. So Tian Xuanzi wasn’t just vicious.

“Your Divine Firmament Sword Sutra has reached the pinnacle of the third stage. So let me teach you a little trick.” Mu Chuan smiled as he changed the topic.

“What trick?”

“A little something to conceal your aura.” Mu Chuan looked at Lin Yun and asked, “Did you notice anything different about me?”

Lin Yun wasn’t able to sense anything in the beginning. But he was soon surprised because Mu Chuan’s aura suddenly dropped to the Dragon Pulse Realm. No matter how he looked at it, Mu Chuan now looked like a Dragon Pulse Realm expert with no signs of being a King. He naturally knew some tricks about concealing his aura, but he couldn’t do it to Mu Chuan’s degree.

Mu Chuan explained, “This is called Black Tortoise Breathing. This is a technique I saw after risking my life back then, and that technique is called the Divine Tortoise Transformation. If you’re interested, I can teach it to you. But it’s incomplete, and I can’t guarantee how much you can grasp.”